The Dominican Republic basketball selection (ranked 26th in the world by FIBA) lost its first game in the FIBA World Cup to Ukraine (ranked 45th), 72-62. But the team held fast and defeated New Zealand (ranked 19th) in its next game, 76-63. This was the team that barely lost to Turkey (76-73), which is ranked 7th in the world.
It was a great night for Houston Rockets forward Francisco Garcia who scored a game-high 29 points.
On the win, coach Orlando Antigua told FIBA News:
“We played the kind of basketball we are capable of,” said the 41-year-old, who will take charge of the University of South Florida after Spain 2014.
“We moved the ball around better and got some open shots and made them. Defensively, I think we did well to make it difficult for a talented team like New Zealand to take their shots.
“We will take it one game at a time,” Antigua said of his team’s last three Group C fixtures. “We have been doing that so far and we’ll continue to keep things simple.
“But I would say this: I’m sure every coach out there has said this. This is the World Cup. Every team is good to get to the World Cup. There are no easy games, there are no bad teams.”
The DR now plays Finland (39th) on Tuesday, 2 September 2014 at 21:30 Madrid time, and then USA (1st) on Wednesday, 3 September 2014 at 21:30 Madrid time.
http://www.fiba.com/basketballworldcup/2014/Dominican-Republic#
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2182201-new-zealand-undone-by-dominican-republic-on-day-two-of-fiba-world-cup
http://www.fiba.com/news/martinez-garcia-feeding-off-each-other-to-power-dominican-republic
http://www.fiba.com/basketballworldcup/2014/news/Vucinic-Antigua-on-opposite-sides-of-same–shooting
http://www.fiba.com/basketballworldcup/2014/news/Jeter-counts-on–superb-start–for-Ukraine-to-last-
http://www.fiba.com/basketballworldcup/2014/Dominican-Republic
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=reQzwdDWe2U
http://www.listin.com.do/el-deporte/2014/8/31/335687/Garcia-anota-18-en-reves-de-Dominicana-ante-Ucrania